


Solace for the Damned

by KagamiSorciere



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M, Priest!Kylo, a devilishly christmasy fic, but they still somehow have a heart, demon!rey, hardly the most noble motivations here, may actually continue this one, not quite as blasphemous as you think, sinners sinners everywhere, someone's got a history
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-09-11 15:21:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8995531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KagamiSorciere/pseuds/KagamiSorciere
Summary: Christmas Eve, and a lone priest of a tiny, isolated parish works feverishly in the snow until an old friend drops by. She misses him- what will it take to lure him away? When will he stop hiding behind the cloth?





	1. The Eve

**Author's Note:**

  * For [incognitajones](https://archiveofourown.org/users/incognitajones/gifts).



> Hello dear incognitajones! I hope you like it, and happy new year!!! :D
> 
> EDIT: This story will continue as my attempt at a shuffled timeline story. Chapters will not be posted in chronological order but will be written mostly from prompts from tumblr. You can submit your own for this story by stuffing them into my ask box at these-are-the-first-steps.tumblr.com

It was Christmas Eve. The snow was beginning to come down harder as the priest tugged at the bent, broken latch to his antique wrought-iron fence. It really was a blessing having this old church in his care- he'd argued for its survival despite its tiny congregation, managed to save it from being sold. He had his reasons for wanting to keep it running anyway. But sometimes living in a museum piece had its draw-backs.

The front doors of the old building were cracked ajar, letting some of the heat pouring off of the radiators inside vent out. One thing the place definitely _did_ have was good heat, but sometimes it was _too_ good. A soft light emanated through the stained glass and it wavered slightly from the movement within. A week ago he'd opened up the great hall to the local homeless and was bullishly proud that he had raised enough funds to not only give them a good breakfast in the morning, but also a big Christmas meal. They mostly snoozed quietly in the warmth inside- no one would be dying in the streets in the cold in _his_ parish. Not this year.

He audibly sighed in frustration as he tried to get a better grip on the latch, trying to leverage it another direction. His hands were going numb from the cold and a growl sounded deep in his throat. Nothing was working and his fingers felt like ice.

"Here, let me help you," an accented, feminine voice offered from behind him, and before he could react, a delicately tanned hand curled around his, instantly warming it, and the latch easily pushed back into shape.

He huffed, too exasperated to question it, and their hands dropped together as he stood back to admire the work.

"Thank you," he said rather winded, turning around, and his breath fogged heavily up into the air.

He paused when he saw her, but he found couldn't bring himself to be surprised.

She grinned broadly at him, eyes bright, but as they took each other in, her smile slightly fell. Still, she couldn't help herself.

"Bet you miss having me around," she said suddenly.

She bobbed eagerly in front of him in her thigh-high boots and finely netted stockings and he watched as she tugged absently at the hem of her short skirt. Her leather jacket was open, billowing in the cold breeze -any other person would have been freezing to death. _He_ was freezing to death just looking at her.

"Yeah, well," he began, his eyes finally meeting hers, "Not a lot of weight lifting when you're in the clergy."

She arched a fascinated, dubious brow. " _Really?_ " she purred. "I've heard there's actually quite a bit of 'lifting' going on," she giggled with a waggle of her eyebrows.

He blinked at her, resisting the urge to roll his eyes and instead gave in with a light huff of laughter. He leaned against the fence, one arm propped atop it, and shook his head.

"What can I do for you, Rey?" he asked with a small smile.

She stared at him for a moment, frozen in her over-exuberant grin, and her expression softened before lighting up again.

"It's the Eve!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Well, not THE Eve," she corrected, "but the one your kind chose in order to trick the pagans…"

At that, he _did_ roll his eyes, and he leaned deeper into the fence. She smirked wickedly at her tiny triumph of finally annoying him until the thrill was gone as quickly as it came and her brow furrowed. They stood together in the snow in silence.

"You ready to quit all this yet, Kylo?" she asked finally.

Kylo sighed painfully and rolled his back against the fence, gripping the pointed spike in his hand.

"Because I've been waiting very, very patiently…" she continued, fumbling with the hem of her skimpy jacket.

"Rey…"

"I know what you've said," she interrupted him hurriedly. "I…know what you've said."

Kylo closed his eyes as she stepped closer, and when he opened them again he couldn't meet her gaze.

"But don't you miss jumping on a plane whenever you want? Going wherever you want? _Doing_ whatever you want?"

He tilted his head away with a wince, chewing absently at the corner of his mouth.

"Don't you miss being _free_?" she whispered.

His head whipped towards her as he looked at her with wide, accusing eyes. "Tell that to _Snoke_ ," he snapped.

Rey pursed her lips. "You can't _hide_ behind the sanctity of the church forever, Kylo."

Pushing back from the fence, he laughed, giving her a cold grin. "Can't I?" he pressed. "I've been doing pretty well for the past three years, haven't I?"

She huffed angrily, and smoke seemed to flare from her nostrils. "You have to face him _sometime_!" she said with irritation. "You can't hide from the _Devil."_

" _No,"_ he shot back, but with a breath, the fight seemed to drain out of him. "No, I can't hide," he admitted with a shake of his head. "But I can lock myself away in a fortress and that's good enough for me."

Rey's eyes flared, and with a clench of her jaw suddenly she was on him, grabbing him by the lapels of his heavy winter coat and pushing him back. "WHY?" she growled, the whites of her eyes flashing with preternatural brightness in her fury. She was small compared to him, but he almost felt his feet lifting from the ground.

"Tell me _why!_ " she demanded again, flashing her teeth at him with a snarl, and she shook him in her grasp.

He didn't reach for her, instead letting her pull him almost off his feet, and his breath came in gusts in her grasp. He glared at her sharply. She met him look for look and they stood there, boring daggers into each other. She shook him again, but he refused to gratify her with a response. It wouldn't work, none of it seemed to work anymore.

He stared her in the eye, daring her to keep going, to take her violence further, here, on Holy Ground, and felt slightly relieved as he watched her feral expression slowly morph something more forlorn. Her grip weakened until her hands let go of the crumpled fabric and fell away. He stared down at her questioningly, and when she glanced back up with large, sad hazel eyes, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight embrace.

"Oh Kylo…" she whimpered.

She had to stand on her tip toes to reach him and she rested her chin on his shoulder, cradling his head in her arms. He sighed with a heavy resignation and slowly lifted his arms to tuck them around her waist. Rey gripped him tighter, and her eyes danced frantically, focusing within a space that no one else could see. Lifting a hand away, she gently trailed her fingertip down the back of his head, through the beautiful waves of his hair that she loved so much, until her nail grazed the length of his neck, and Kylo shuddered, a shock of arousal shooting through him. He leaned more heavily into her touch, into _her_ , and she pressed herself more firmly against him, forcing him to feel the swell of her modest breasts, and his hands shook as they brushed down her sides.

He pulled away but her arms around his neck ensured it could never be too far. They stood nose to nose, their breaths ghosting each other- merging into one before floating into nothing above their heads. She was levitating a foot off the ground to meet his eye and she peered at him with such pained affection that his mind raced trying to interpret it. He wasn't cold anymore, and as his eyes traced the curve of her lips, he saw vividly the times they stalked into abandoned derelict buildings to violently have their way with one another, or when he had her begging, _screaming_ his name as he fucked her up against marble walls in the most expensive hotels in the world. And after so long his traitorous mind was soon proposing new ways, new places they could spend time together, now. He'd had her in almost every possible way- why could he always think of more?

His stomach flinched at the thought and his breath was shallow, but he couldn't account for the veritable _tears_ in her eyes as she slowly crept her mouth closer and closer to his. He couldn't move away- found he didn't _want_ to move away- until he gasped, seemingly breaking the spell, and he had to muster every speck of his willpower to pull his head away.

"Rey, please…" he croaked. "…please don't," he begged, digging his fingers into her waist.

"Kylo," she pleaded softly, trying to recapture his eyes, and the strain of her voice went right through him. How many times had he heard his name said just like that? But this time there was an added note of agony to the prayer that almost killed him to deny. _Why is she doing this?_

" _Please_ , Rey…" he begged. "You know I can't."

He looked back at her stricken face, shaking his head. "I _can't_."

She squeezed her eyes closed and her fingers clawed into his shoulders. She pulled him back into herself with a deep, shuddering breath. Her hands seemed to sear into him, pressing him into her, as if she were fighting to imprint the very feel of his body against her own. All those years she took for granted…. _Who knew it would have ended the way it did?_

His heart beat against her chest and she could feel his resolve start to waver as his hands slowly wandered lower down her back. No. _No._ She….she'd _protect him_.

She pulled away swiftly, letting him go, and he stumbled back to double over against the fence, grabbing it for support as he heaved in a lungful of air. Relief coursed through him as the sudden urge to take her and utterly devour her melted away. Carefully pulling himself upright and catching his breath, he swiped absently at the hair that fell in front of his eyes and leveled her with a heavy gaze.

"What is it you need, Rey?" he asked hoarsely.

She grabbed at her elbow and pressed her lips together. She seemed to mull it over, too much to say and yet knowing there would never be enough time. Her face flickered with pain as she forced it all back down- she would never admit what she wanted. Never.

"I came to try and convince you," she said finally, nipping at her lower lip.

Kylo groaned loudly, turning partially away from her and resisting the urge to sit on the freezing ground. .

"I'll never stop trying to convince you."

He sighed. "Rey, I—"

"It's BORING here, Kylo, _alright?_ " she shouted.

He turned, staring at her with his mouth slightly agape. She regretted her outburst immediately.

"What do you mean?" he asked quietly.

Twisting her lips, she began to tap her foot nervously as she looked at his hunched form before grunting in frustration and turning on her heel to put her back to him. She yanked violently at the bottom of her jacket- she should _not_ have said that.

"Have you…all this time, have you actually been _staying_ here?" he asked incredulously.

She yelled loudly again, gripping her hair with both hands and staring up angrily at the snowy sky. It fell about her like a vortex, and he noticed not a single flake seemed to actually fall on her, all of them evaporating before they came too close. She said nothing as she glowered at the firmament, her lips forming silent words he couldn't make out, when slowly her arm rose up and a bright, blaring middle finger was shoved right in the direction of the sky.

Kylo's eyes widened and he hissed. "Nope!" he exclaimed, quickly hopping towards her. He grabbed at her arm, forcing it down while giving nervous glances towards the above and pulling her away. "We're not doing that, nope!"

Rey glared viciously at the sky, trying to yank her arm petulantly away from him when he grabbed her hand in his, effectively neutralizing the offending limb. He dragged her back towards the fence and she swung herself towards him with a scowling pout, following reluctantly and curling her fingers around his.

"If He's so great, why can't He just grant you individual protection then?" she grumbled. "It's just _cruel_ , Kylo!"

"You know why, Rey. Sins…"

"Yes, yes, YES, you have 'grave sins on your conscience'," she mocked loudly. "Ugh!"

In spite of himself, he grinned. This he _did_ miss.

"Yes," he said softly, turning back to her.

She huffed. "Well, that's part of why I'm here."

He narrowed his eyes. "What?" _Maybe I spoke too soon…_

She nodded innocently. "Yep! I've decided, since I clearly can't leave you here in this timesuck to rot, that I'll help you clear your conscience."

Kylo scowled heavily at her. "Rey…" he warned, a dangerous edge seeping into his tone. She grinned widely at the sound of his voice and rolled up to her toes to pat his cheek fondly.

"See?" she cried eagerly. " _There_ he is! I've missed…" she blinked suddenly, catching herself. "…that."

She cleared her throat and looked down, giving his hand a squeeze as a car chugged quietly into the parking lot across the narrow street. She glanced over at it, but it wasn't enough to distract Kylo from gaping at her for what felt like the tenth time that evening. He hadn't missed where she was going with that line. Did she actually _miss_ him? But demons weren't supposed to…

_Rey…_

The clink and clank of the car doors opening echoed through the empty space, but his eyes didn't leave her, and the expression she was met with when she turned back caused her to blink in surprise.

"Rey…" he said carefully. "You know you can…"

He swallowed as his eyes darted across her face.

"What?" she asked expectantly. She pursed her lips. "What, confess my mountain of sins in The Cleansing Waters of Heaven and join you in this weird gingerbread house?" she rambled, nodding towards his church behind him. "No," she continued with a shake of her head.

The jangle of keys. She met his eyes and gave him a sad, forced smile. "No thank you," she finished tightly.

Seemingly lost in his own thoughts, he shook his head and pulled their joined hands closer towards him, drawing her closer. He lowered his head to look up at her with dark, innocent eyes and she inwardly cursed- _damn_ him for knowing that face got to her.

"Rey….think of it…." he urged.

Her eyes widened as she stared back and she swallowed heavily. Slowly, he crept closer and licked his lips, her gaze flicking towards the motion as his mind worked to carefully put his thoughts in order. She waited, anticipation almost gnawing at her as she waited for him to speak.

"Rey," he began, "we—"

"Ben?" a female voice called.

Kylo jerked his head away at the sound and his eyes darted into the night in shock. He was jolted into high alert when he spotted two figures on the far side of the lot beneath a parking lamp. He looked sharply back at her.

"What have you done?" he demanded harshly, soft voice completely gone, and in an instant, the moment was broken.

Rey shrugged, trying to clear her mind and letting her nonchalance blanket back over her.

"I told you I'd help you," she said with a grin, genuine this time despite herself, and the look on his face was much too satisfying.

"Ben, is that you?" Leia called again as she made her way closer, a scruffy looking man following behind her as they carefully navigated their way through the ice and snow.

Kylo yanked her closer by their joined hands as he seethed. "Luke, too? Rey, you can't just DO—" he whined before being cut off with a delicate finger pressed against his lips.

"Ah-ah, sweetheart," she chided sweetly. "You forget. _I_ can do whatever I like. It's _you_ who thinks rules are cool now."

He looked at her in panic, but as his two remaining family members reached the street and began to cross it towards them, he couldn't bring himself to answer them. His eyes darted back and forth from Rey to his mother and then his uncle and back again, a twisted trifecta of things he suddenly had no idea what to do with. He'd spent three years in mind-numbing virtual isolation as a priest. He wasn't _prepared_ for things like this anymore.

Rey's catty grin softened as she pulled his hand towards her and leaned in close to his ear. Her breath warmed his cheek as her eyes danced along his profile, searing his face fondly into her memories for the rest of Time. He was too close to see the affection that was embarrassingly obvious, and for that, maybe she _would_ thank God later….

"Merry Christmas, Ben Solo," she whispered. The world seemed to come back to him then, and as he turned towards her, blinking in surprise, there was no one there.

Leia and Luke had made it to the sidewalk in front of the church, and Kylo caught them just in time to see his mother tearfully reaching out to him with a smile.

"Oh Ben!"

It was like reflex, reaching back towards her, and he easily slipped into her arms.

"Oh Ben, I've been looking for you everywhere. _Everywhere_ …." she cried.

Her arms held him tightly and he hugged her back, closing his eyes. "Mom," he choked out. Where did these tears suddenly come from? "Oh mom. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry I didn't _mean_ to, I didn't—"

"I know!" she whispered against his hair. She pulled away to look at him, really look at him, for the first time in years. The shame burned in him, but when he looked into her eyes, he was confronted with nothing but love. He wasn't sure if that made it better or made it worse.

Her fingers reached up to gently tuck his hair behind his ear and brush it away from his face. He was freezing now, he couldn't feel his cheeks as the tears chafed his skin in the cold, but he didn't care.

"I know," she said again, staring up at him with a pride he knew he didn't deserve. "And I love you, Ben."

As she pulled him back into her arms, he gasped against her. He gasped in pain and relief as a massive weight suddenly felt lifted from his shoulders.

He curled his arms around her tiny form and felt the comforting hand of his uncle at his back.

"Mom…" he found himself whispering again.

Rey stood just a little way away. She watched the huddled mass of humans, _Kylo's_ humans, and her heart felt slightly warmed by the sight. She stuck out her tongue and gagged- No, no, there have been way too many feelings for one night. This was about getting Kylo _protection_ , _better_ protection, and getting him back out into the world again. Getting him _out_ so they could be—

She watched as the happy reunion splintered and Kylo motioned towards his church's front doors. He showed the way, and helped his mother up the slick stairs. His uncle slid a bit, grabbing quickly for the railing and recovering before laughing it loudly off. Rey had never seen Kylo smile so broadly. It was almost _contagious_. And as the two disappeared inside, she found a small smile digging its way onto her own lips as well.

Kylo walked behind them, steadying his mother until they both disappeared behind the wooden front doors, when he paused, and looked back out into the snow.

"Think about it!" he shouted loudly in her direction.

Rey reared back and raised her brows, always ready for a performance, and making a show of looking around before pointing a finger at herself and silently mouthing, " _Me?_ "

Kylo nodded back.

"Think about it Rey," he said again, less loudly this time. He knew she could hear him. His voice was almost pleading, and she watched as his eyes lost that luster of happiness they'd held just moments before. But when he reached the top of the stair and turned back for the final time, she was met with a look of hope that made her breath catch and her mouth run dry.

_Think about it…_

The door closed behind him, and Rey was left out in the snow. She stood under the parking lamp and huffed into the cold night air, hugging herself tightly. Her task was done, nothing else to do, and she swung herself from side to side, looking around as if something interesting would actually happen now in this terrible, boring town.

Looking down at her boots, she sighed and, pursing her lips, she began to nod slightly at first, until her nods became bigger and bigger.

"Yeah," she said finally aloud with a downturn twist of her lips. "Yeah, maybe…" she continued casually into the dark. She scuffed her boot into a shoveled pile of snow which sent it careening into the mostly cleared street and she smirked. Looking up at the sky, she quirked her brow. "It's almost the New Year after all."

Her smirk widened into a grin which quickly had her laughing outright, and suddenly, in a puff of sweet-smelling smoke, she was gone.

Kylo and his family moved almost silently through the main hall, determined not to disturb his guests in the pews. One of them, however, shifted beneath his sleeping bag, eying the group as it passed.

"Coulda swore Father was arguing with himself outside," he grunted to his neighbor.

The neighbor grinned sleepily, still sitting mostly upright in the pew. "Oh, you didn't know? That's just Rey."

The man scoffed. "Well I didn't see nothing till those folks showed up."

The neighbor chuckled. "Wellllll…" he drawled, slumping down more comfortably in his seat. He stared up at the carefully vaulted ceilings, worked into place hundreds of years ago by so many hands, and his eyes trace along its backbone down to the crucifix with its sacrifice hanging above the altar.

"Well," he began again. "Everybody's got their demons."

The neighbor turned to him with a knowing smile and an arch of his brow and the man grunted, too tired to bother with weird cryptic answers as he burrowed back down into his nest of covers.

Towards the front of the hall from a side room that glowed with a delicate light, soft laughter could be heard. It wasn't too loud, nor was it disruptive. But it carried with it a comfort, and a somehow, the promise of hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side dedicated to Carrie Fisher, whose character's entrance in this story hit me even more profoundly after recent events.


	2. Audience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: So ahhh....this technically isn't the second one I've written for this. It's the *third*. But I really dislike the ending for the second and want to edit it before posting it formally. Still, this story and 'Exigence' are snippet fics where chapters happen out of order, so it shouldn't really matter, right? Right??
> 
> \------
> 
> "(hi this is pissbabysithlord rolling into your inbox to offer a humble prompt) HOW DID DEMON REY MEET FATHER KYLO? (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ i wanna know" - itaweasel-hime
> 
> WELL HERE YOU GO!! May not be what you expected!! 8D

“Kid’s a fucking idiot.”

“He has _no_ idea what he’s doing.”

“He’s Vader’s grandchild, though.”

“Vader was a fool.”

“Even so, shouldn’t that be worth _something?”_

“Since when is merit won by bloodline? What kind of soft, monarchic bullshit is that- have you forgotten what side of Eternity you’re on?”

The demons coalesced in and out of each other, more or less huddled, around the 17 year old who worked in secret in his uncle’s attic, with a book he never should have found.

He was an easy target- opened wide to the powers of the _other side_ with zero training in how to control it. They enjoyed messing with him, moving his things around when he turned his back, flipping to the wrong pages. In the beginning, he fell for that one a lot, and they’d laughed loudly when he’d summon some odd, grotesque thing after meshing two different chants together. He’d gotten _mostly_ wise to that trick, though, so they’d had to come up with other means of entertaining themselves.

“I think he’s just young,” came an airier voice.

“Pfft,” another scoffed. “Agaraesh only likes him because Vader used to hang around with that primordial buffoon.”

“Obi Wan was _not_ a buffoon!” Agaraesh exclaimed. “He knew more than all of you combined! _He’d_ know what do with another Skywalker trying to break into this realm.”

“Newsflash, Rae, he’s a Solo, not a Skywalker.”

“A different last name doesn’t change what’s in his blood.”

“Maybe not….but names have power. And Skywalker is a name he does not have.”

“Yeah, and it shows.”

As he went to grab a new instrument from the shelf behind him, the pages flipped silently over before fluttering down to stop at 1012.

“Shh, SHH!!” they hushed at each other, and they watched.

The boy, so wrapped up in his spell, thinking his audience was blessedly absent for once, continued on as a green smoke began to swirl over the tome. He frowned.

“That…that’s not supposed to be green,” he muttered, and screamed when thirteen vipers materialized atop his ritual.

The demons were beside themselves, and their satisfaction reeked into the surrounding space. 

Agaraesh watched as the boy backed himself against the bookshelf, hands clinging to it, as his chest heaved. His mind was practically humming as it worked to think of an incantation to at least freeze the aggressive beasts. Eyes wide and arm shaking, he held out his hand towards them. The demons grew rapt. He took in a breath.

“Fríesende!!” he commanded. There was a pause, but the vipers still persisted, slithering amongst each other, slowly flicking out their forked tongues and honing in on the boy’s fear. The demons were in an uproar, falling over each other, as much as incorporeal being could, over the apparent failure.

Agaraesh was frustrated. Moving close to him, the demon rested its lips close to his ear.

“Try ‘aþ’ as your ending….” it purred, and instantly his hand shot over his ear in a panic, pulling at it desperately as the vipers moved closer.

“I’d try it quickly, too,” Agaraesh continued, “They’re already within striking distance…”

He whined, adding to the amusement of the others gathered, but his hand raised up as he forced his fear and failure into another form. His eyes flared.

“FRÍESAÞ!!” he screamed, an in an instant, the snakes not only ceased to move but also began to quickly frost over.

“Unfair!”

“You’re _helping_ him, Rae??”

“This goes against The Orders, Agaraesh!”

“Not to mention ruining all the fun.”

Agaraesh huffed. “It got boring watching him fail,” she defended. “This is _far_ more interesting.”

The group grumbled and several moved away. The boy was heaving rather dramatically as he stared in shock at the frozen vipers.

“….Snoke will hear about this,” one voice that hadn’t spoken up amongst the previous rabble said. Volse. “You know what could happen.”

“I hardly think the Devil’s going to be upset over nurturing a _Skywalker_ , regardless of what his current last name may be.”

There was silence.

“You know they’ve been shielding him for a reason,” Volse said again. “You may have just ruined that.”

“Well then even more reason for his Lordishness to be pleased,” Agaraesh replied.

The boy was swinging his head around the room, as if he were looking, or checking, for something, before slowly approaching the vipers. Squatting down, he stuck out a finger, and gave one a prod. The second his flesh made contact, Agaraesh reached out with a wily grin and jolted his shoulders, sending him screaming, backwards, and banging his head into a shelf.

Agaraesh laughed heartily. “Oh, God, I really couldn’t help myself!”

He sat up, rubbing his head with a wince. “That wasn’t necessary,” he grumbled.

“Who says it wasn’t? I helped you, after all. Don’t I get a little fun in return?”

“You call a bunch of vipers ‘fun’?”

“Of course.”

“You’re insane.”

“Well yeah. _Demon_ ,” Agaraesh scoffed sarcastically. The boy froze, and his mouth went dry.

“….demon?”

Agaraesh grinned and leaned towards him. Really, the moment of revelation was always the best- time to savor it.

“Well of _course,_ sweetheart,” Agaraesh purred sweetly, and lightly licked its tongue up his cheek. He shuddered violently but didn’t move away. The boy had more guts than the others gave him credit for.

He blinked into the nothing. “Where are you? Why can’t I see you?” he asked finally. Agaraesh smirked.

“Well for that, you’d either need to know my name or be a much more powerful conjurer than you are. Although the snakes _are_ quite impressive, and…”

He sighed in exasperation. “Alright, alright, I think I’ve been mocked enough for one day.”

“It’s Agaraesh,” Volse’s voice cut cleanly through the empty room.

“ _Hey,_ ” the demon protested, but the boy already went to open his mouth.

“AGARAESH,” he recited firmly.

“SSHIT!!”

“You said he was interesting…” Volse drawled back.

Agaraesh popped into existence, shorter than the boy, tawny brown hair in a mess, and she was clothed, _she_ , in the most moth-ridden, poncho-esque piece of tapestry he’d ever seen, held closed round the middle with a rough leather belt. He pulled himself up to his feet, trying to hold himself together. As she raised her head, her eyes met his, and they stared at each other in shocked silence.

“ _What_ are you _wearing??”_ he demanded in an accusing tone. Agaraesh groaned loudly and brought up her hands to ruffle her already tangled hair.

“It’s been a thousand or so years since I took human form, alright?? I liked it. I wanted to _wear_ it!!”

“So you cut out a giant hole in a priceless piece of art??”

“ _Priceless??_ ”

“You know those things hang in museums today, right??”

Agaraesh scoffed. “Yeah, well, they weren’t considered art where _I_ got it from,” she shot back. She looked down with an arched brow at her garb and pulled at the front of it to get a better look, as much as the thin leather belt tied around her waist would allow. She got lost the images suddenly, eyes roving across the wovenwork, before quietly giggling and pointing at one figure being violently beheaded on her chest.

“Look! Look at that one! That one was always my favorite,” she barked in a strange and uneven, breathy laugh. She tried to hold it out for him to see, but he reared back, a look of mild disgust on his face.

“Listen.” he sighed, “Agar—“

Her face fell instantly and she stepped towards him, slamming her finger against his lips. “DON’T!!” she hissed.

He stared wide-eyed at her, critique of her appearance gone. She was unaware of the energy flaring off her, and he reeked suddenly of fear. This was a _demon_. A _demon!!_ Her looks were _made_ to be deceiving. And she was _touching_ him. This wasn’t—

“ _Don’t_ say that name!” she continued, face pinched fury, but he couldn’t help but think it incomplete. How was she so—?

“If you say it,” she instructed slowly, “I go _back_.”

His breath stilled.

“Do you understand?”

Slowly, he nodded. She pulled her finger away from his lips and lowered her hand with a - _pat_ \- against her tapestry tabard, causing a decent-sized puff of dust and filth to billow out into the air. They watched it rise up and disperse out into the air together.

“Might be plague on that,” she muttered.

“ _What??”_

“Where do you want these snakes?”

He stared at her, mouth agape, but when the idea of ‘plague’ blared across his mind again, he promptly shut it. “Snakes?” he finally echoed back.

“Yess, _snakes_ ,” she hissed at him with a sardonic look and a vigorous nod in their frozen direction. There was a small puddle forming beneath them. They were beginning to _thaw_.

He thought quickly. Biting his lip, he went over to the attic window and looked outside.

“See that kid?” he asked, pointing. Agaraesh tiptoed over and peered through the glass.

“That kid’s an asshole,” he fumed. “Give ‘em to him.”

The corner of her mouth twisted up. “You hate him that much?”

Gritting his teeth, he nodded. Her grin broadened as she looked him over. Taking a step closer, she peered up at him- _God_ , humans have gotten tall!- and gifted him with a pointed smile.

“What do they call you?” she asked. He blinked down at her.

“Um…” he cleared his throat, “Kylo. They call me Kylo Ren.”

Agaraesh smirked. “Nobody calls you that.”

He frowned. “Maybe not, but _you_ do,” he said with conviction, and Agaraesh looked over the stern set of his brow, the subtle movement of his lips, and the piercing nature of his eyes….no, he may not be a Skywalker by name, but he definitely was one by blood.

Rey tilted her head to the side. “Alright,” she said simply, and with a raise of her arm and a snap of her fingers, the wet pile of vipers was gone.

He startled- he did that easily, she thought- but soon recovered to look eagerly out the window again. His enemy’s mother was just pulling up in the driveway, arms full of paper bags brimming with groceries. Kylo and Agaraesh watched, heads together in the narrow window, as the mother called her son to help. With a roll of his eyes and a quiet insult, he stalked over and Agaraesh snickered. Finally, they made their way to the door.

“Where did you put them?” he asked quickly.

“Kitchen,” she replied with amusement.

“Perfect.”

His nails dug into the window frame as the key went into the lock, turned, the door opened. They both took in a breath as the two disappeared into the kitchen. There was a scream. A _shriek_. And a loud pounding as several things hit the floor. There was the sound of crockery breaking and plates smashing, as the mother, and shortly thereafter the son, came streaking out of the house in terror.

Kylo was beside himself, nearly doubled over in laughter. It was too good! Too rich!! Ohh, payback really _was_ satisfying, regardless of what his uncle always said!! He looked on, through the tears, as the target stumbled now onto the driveway as his mother screamed again. He was clutching at his ankle.

“Uh- _oh!_ ” Agaraesh exclaimed in a sing-song voice. “Looks like _somebody_ got bit!”

The boy was wailing out in the open, rolling around, and Agaraesh was wheezing as she bit into her finger from laughter. When the ambulance and several animal control vehicles pulled up, the show was over, and they turned around to slide back down the wall.

“OH my god, that was satisfying!” Kylo breathed, running his hands through his hair.

“ _God_ , had nothing to do with it,” she snickered.

“Oh right,” he corrected, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Sorry.”

Agaraesh shrugged. She stretched out her filthy bare feet in front of her, rolling them on her heels back and forth, watching the way her toes wiggled. It caught Kylo’s attention, too.

“So since I can’t call you A—“ he coughed, “I mean…the other name…..what can I call you?”

She sighed, giving one last longful look at her toes before turning to him. “Dunno,” she confessed. She paused, before her eyes lit up brilliantly, and he sort of smiled. “Some call me Rae.”

“Rey?” he repeated.

“Isn’t that what I said?”

Kylo grinned. He nodded. “Alright.”


	3. Unexpected House Guests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story had no prompt- I just wanted to write about what happened after chapter 2. It will probably get a third part as well, a triptych describing how their relationship was essentially established.

Luke was coming.

Luke was coming and Rey stood in the middle of his room a dripping mess, only half dry from using the shower ' _to get the plague off'_ , she said, because she kept trying to chew at the towel with slightly pointed teeth so Kylo had had to snatch it back and throw one of his old t-shirts at her while trying _very_ hard not to look.

But he was seventeen, and he noticed she had a rather pretty pink tinge to her cheeks now that they were free of dust and grime, and it had taken all his willpower to turn away as, with a casual shrug, she suddenly dropped the towel and pulled the proffered piece of clothing over her head.

Already the rivulets of water off her hair were soaking through the thankfully thick material- thick enough.

"You have to hide," he said hurriedly in hushed tones as his uncle's engine idled in the driveway.

Rae tilted her head curiously at him with a frown. Kylo stared back and widened his eyes knowingly at her, desperate for some acknowledgement of the seriousness of the situation.

"Rey, did you hear me?" he hissed. She blinked in mild annoyance at him.

"Yea, but why?" she asked with a slight curl of her lip.

"Because my _uncle_ is coming, and if he sees you here, he'll _know_ what you are, and if he _knows_ what you are, then he'll _know what I did!_ "

Rae snorted. "What have you done, Kylo?"

Kylo let go a high pitched wheeze of an exasperated whine when a downstairs door slammed shut and the jangle of keys echoed up the hall.

"Ben? I'm back!" Luke called.

" _Ssshit!_ " he hissed. Grabbing a fistful of her her t-shirt sleeve, he pulled her to the side.

"What, he isn't supposed to know that you were using Darth Vader's infamous tome?" she giggled. Yanking her towards him, she lazily fell against his heaving chest as he loomed high and craned his neck to look down at her. She met his gaze with bored eyes and a small, mirthful twist of her lips.

"If he discovers you," he began in a low, even voice. Rae shifted against him. "He'll send you back."

Rae frowned. Kylo arched a brow at her.

"And you don't want to go back, do you, Rey," he stated more than asked.

Her eyes fell to his chest and her fingers picked at his own t-shirt as she tilted her head side to side in thought. His grip tightened on her sleeve.

"Decide now, because he's coming up the stairs," he breathed with every vestige of calm he could muster.

"Well I don't _want_ to go back just yet, _no—"_

"Good," he said tightly, and, grabbing her properly by the arm, flung open his closet door and she literally _squeaked_ when he tossed her in.

"In _here_?" she whined.

"Quiet! Yes!" he insisted with a whisper. "Hide behind the clothes- and don't make a _sound!"_

He shut the door as footsteps neared the top of the stairs and, turning circles in the middle of his floor, he snatched up a book about physics from his desk and bounced onto his bed, willing his breath to calm and to suddenly become the picture of perfect nonchalance.

There was a knock at his door.

"Ben?"

Slowly it opened.

Ben raised his brows with a smile. "Oh, hey Luke."

"Hey kid. Everything alright? I've been calling you."

Ben looked surprised as he gave a small shake of his head. "No. Didn't hear anything. Must be this book," he said with a small laugh, raising it up off his chest. Luke squinted at the cover.

"The Secrets of Physics, eh? Not exactly casual reading…"

Ben forced a smile. "Hey uncle, did you know that if two planes with atomic clocks both fly around the earth at the exact same time in opposite directions, when they land their clocks will be different?"

Luke looked genuinely surprised. "No I did not. Nature's wild, huh?"

"Yeah," he nephew replied with a goofy grin.

"Hey, why don't you come down stairs and help me with some of this stuff, alright? I think you'll like what I've brought."

"Sure thing, Luke. Gimme just a minute to finish this one section?" he asked hopefully.

Luke grinned and nodded. "Alright, kiddo. But hurry up."

Shaking his head, Luke shut the door. The second it clicked closed, Kylo's face fell and he shot forward to lock it. He tossed the book back onto his desk and pulled open his closet door.

"Rey?"

There was a shuffling, a slithering beneath an admittedly embarrassing pile of discarded clothing.

"Rey?" he repeated, when suddenly a hand shot out of the pile and her head poked through.

"I'm here," she called.

Kylo relaxed into a sigh.

"Alright….just stay here for now, alright? I'll be back later."

" _Later?_ " she cried incredulously, before Kylo shushed her for her volume. Rae frowned.

"Are these dirty? Are these dirty clothes you've asked me to hide under, Kylo?"

Kylo arched a brow. "Coming from the chick who showed up in a tapestry-poncho covered in God knows what and _you_ constantly complaining about the Black Death or something…"

Rae rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright, you didn't have to bring _His_ name into it…"

"Fine," he shot back. He eyed her with a frown. "But will you stay here? Until I come back?"

Rae huffed. "Well I haven't anywhere else to be…"

Kylo grinned widely, and Rae peered up curiously at his sudden onslaught of expression.

"Great. I'll see you soon."

He closed the door again, and Rae listened as the door to his room also opened and clicked shut. She wiggled her fingers in the air. "Bye," she mumbled, and let it flop back onto a pair of spaceship-covered boxers.

—

It was late when Ben came back, agitated and distracted enough that he almost immediately fell onto his bed, buried his face in his pillow, and willed himself to sleep. She wasn't sure of the time, but what she _was_ sure of was that the old man he called 'uncle' was asleep, so she felt confident as she pushed open his closet door with a single finger and crawled her way out of the boy's dirty laundry.

Standing in the center of his room lit by nothing but the half moon glowing brightly outside his window, Rae put her hands on her hips and huffed. She stared at the lumpy mass on the bed, face obscured by a wild mane of very dark hair that shone in the nightlight.

Pursing her lips and _very annoyed that he clearly forgot about her_ , she marched her bare feet over to his bed, yanked up the cover, and crawled in next to him. Ben didn't budge an inch, clearly deep in sleep, until she pushed her head under his chin and aggressively tucked herself into his side. At this he jolted awake, his arms reflexively folding around his new bed companion, before his brain caught up enough to remind him that _he wasn't supposed to have any bed companion_ and he half shouted into the darkness as he lurched forward until Rae covered his mouth with her hand and pushed him decisively back down onto the bed. He struggled, grabbing at her arms and trying to twist out of her grip when suddenly she threw a leg over his stomach and pulled herself on top of him, pinning him beneath her with her superior strength, and only when he realized he couldn't lift an inch off of the covers anymore did he begin to still, still in a panic, and eyes searching wide in the dark. Rae brought her face close.

" _Kylo!"_ she whispered loudly. He tried lurching again with a muffled cry of confusion until her other hand came up and slapped at his cheek trying to snap him out of it.

"It's _me_ , Rae, remember?"

There was a moment longer of confusion until, finally, his eyes adjusted enough to make out her wild hair and loose, familiar shirt and his breath pressed at her hand covering his mouth as he slumped back into his pillow.

"Can I remove my hand now?"

He nodded.

Slowly, she lifted her hand away.

" _Rey_ , what are you—"

"I was in the _closet_ , remember? You said you'd come for me when you came back?" she hissed. Kylo's eyes grew wide.

"Shit."

Rae arched a brow. "Yes. 'Shit'."

"Rey I'm so sorry—"

"Forget about it," she interrupted, and his shocked gaze continued to linger on her face. "Are you calm now?"

"Yeah," he replied breathily.

"Good," and with that, she pushed herself down his torso and made herself comfortable on his chest.

"Um." Kylo stammered, repeatedly, and searched the ceiling for some sort of guidance. Rae's hands were tucked close under her chin and she sighed into them as her toes dug into his thighs. The top of her head touched just under his chin, and suddenly he was very, _very_ aware of the fact that he had only ever given her a t-shirt. Nothing more, as her bottom pushed up against his single arched leg.

"Um, Rey," he tried again, swallowing hard. It wasn't that she wasn't _pretty_ , but she was a _demon_ \- a demon whose powers he had no idea about yet, and even if he asked her there was no guarantee she'd even be _honest_. "Rey, you can't sleep here."

"Why not," came her grumbled reply.

"Um…" he couldn't think of a good enough reason. What if his uncle checked in? No, he always locked his door. What if…. he turned his head to glance at the waning moonlight outside his window. He couldn't make her go back into the closet- not after he fucking _forgot_ about her. Not with his laundry of all things to boot.

Kylo sighed heavily and gingerly brought up a hand to prod at her back.

"Rey, at the very least, you can't sleep like this. You have to get off of my chest."

"Why," came another grumbled reply.

"Because you're heavy and it's hard to sleep with a demon on your chest?"

At that, she sat straight up, mouth gaping (or so he thought), in consternation. "Me? Heavy? I think not. Besides, I used to sit on mortals' chests all the time…"

"Yeah, if you're attacking them, right?"

She frowned. "Well, yeah, but—"

"Are you attacking me, Rey?"

He looked up at her with lowered lids, sleep desperate to take him back, but at that comment she stilled, her face softening as she looked down at him.

"No….no I'm not, Kylo."

The corner of his mouth quirked up.

"Thank you. So if it's alright….just….I won't make you go back into the closet, but pick a side and we'll do it that way."

Hesitantly she nodded and, eventually, lifted up her leg on the other side of him and turned on his stomach, picking the half away from the wall. The bottom of her t-shirt gaped wide with the movement and he'd never been more grateful for darkness in his life as he closed his eyes and sighed heavily. He felt as she situated herself on her side and moved over to make more room for her.

"Comfortable?" he asked finally.

"Mhmm."

"Ok….."

And with that, he closed his eyes. It wasn't two seconds when there was a rustling and something soft curled into his side.

"Rey—?"

"You're so warm," she mumbled, pressing her back close against him.

"Are you cold?" he asked on reflex.

She said nothing, but he felt her nod against his arm when a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Do demons even sleep?" he asked.

Rae sighed. "Sometimes. I've had a long day."

Kylo frowned and nodded, trying to reason it in his mind. "Yeah…I guess so."

She flattened out more against him and suddenly he found himself facing her back- he had _no_ idea where to put his hands.

"Another question?" Rae sighed. Kylo blinked into the dark into her nest of hair when suddenly she arched towards him, something large and soft coming much, much too close to his nether-regions…

He brought down his hand to hold her steady, maybe push her away a little to just get some _space_ , when his fingertips were met with nothing but soft, warm flesh.

"Um, actually…are you not wearing any pants?"

He could almost _hear_ the smile as it spread across her lips.

"No," and pressed herself further back.

 _Ohhhno_ , he thought over and over.

"Goodnight," she purred, and when she finally stilled, he let his head drop onto his pillow.

 _This is trouble_ , he thought. _I'm so fucked._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry but I think this fic is really cute for some reason, haha.

**Author's Note:**

> Confess all your demonpriest AU prompts to my inbox at these-are-the-first-steps.tumblr.com ! My door is always open...


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